Everland Theme Park: Is One Day Enough on South Korea’s Largest Theme Park?

I’m an amusement park kind of girl, so I didn’t miss South Korea’s famous and largest one, Everland Theme Park Resort. Despite the cold weather because of the rain (how lucky can I be?), we started the day early for some thrilling & jaw-dropping adventures. Everland Theme park was bigger than I expected and we didn’t even finish it the whole day given that we’ve arrived there before the opening.

READ SEOUL SEARCHING IN MAY: 5-DAYS SOUTH KOREA ITINERARY AND TRAVEL GUIDE

HOW TO GO TO EVERLAND THEME PARK

via bus:

Rode the subway to Gangnam Station that costs 1350 KRW (~65PHP) or less if you’re nearer. Then from Gangnam Station Exit 10, ride a bus 5002 that will drop you at Everland theme Park for 2600 KRW (~120PHP). It was a 90 min ride so better start early.

This is what we did, and it was all right. Just take note of the departure and arrival time to avoid wasting time in waiting.

via shuttle bus:

Everland Theme Park has a shuttle bus on different pick-up locations in Seoul and outside regions that costs 10000-12000 KRW (~400-500 PHP). See this link for all the departure locations.

via train:

You can also reach Everland Theme Park by their subway. Travel to Giheung Station in Budang Line and transfer to Everline. Train fare is around 3750 KRW (Myeongdong based) depending on where you’ll be coming from. The travel time, with the numerous train transfers, can also take 120 minutes.

via Klook or Trazy:

Klook and Trazy.com also offer roundtrip bus transfer to Everland Theme Park on multiple locations on Seoul subways for 10,000 to 13,000 Korean won.

via EverCab:

Everland Theme Park also offers a premium pick-up service. This option is the most expensive but most comfortable way. You can book this service on this website.

HOW MUCH IS THE ONE DAY PASS OF EVERLAND THEME PARK

If you’re going to buy your tickets on Everland’s ticket booth or website:

EVERLAND THEME PARK ADVENTURE LANDS

Everland is divided into five adventure lands – Zoo Topia, European Adventure, Magic Land, American Adventure, and Global Fair. Park Hours start at 10:00 AM, but we were already able to go inside at around 9:30 AM. We decided to do this amusement park clockwise.

ZOOTOPIA

Zootopia just its name suggests is the zoo part of Everland. There were many animal interactions with no lines around like penguin island and panda world. But the main attractions here that can have a 60 minutes queue are:

• Safari Adventure is where you’ll ride an enclosed bus and tour you inside the tigers, bears, and lions dens.
• Lost Valley is almost the same as Safari Adventure except that you’ll be on an open bus to see the tamer animals like giraffes, elephants, and rhinos.
• Amazon Express is a rapid current adventure where you’ll definitely get wet. We skipped this because we don’t have spare clothes on us.

European Adventure

European Adventure is an area where you’ll be transported to old Europe with the wooden houses, and a big garden that will remind you of a queen’s backyard. The main attraction here is the steep wooden rollercoaster T-Express. I’m not afraid of height but this made my legs shake and maybe wouldn’t try again. We lost most of our time in T-Express. We queued up for almost 3 hours. Attractions you should also check here:

• VR Adventure, a virtual reality ride that will make you feel you’re in the game. It was a horror game when we went and I had to remove my headset because I just can’t anymore.
• Horror Maze is another horror attraction.
• Snow Buster is a snow sled attraction only during winter.

Magic Land

Magic Land is more of for kids. We weren’t able to explore this part because we already lacked the time and we were all adults.

American Adventures

American Adventure has most of the thrilling rides, but we weren’t able to try all the main attraction here due to time restraints. We were only able to ride the Hurricane a few minutes before the closing time. Kahilo! The ride that I would come back for will be:

• Double Rock Spin
• Rolling X-Train

Global Fair

Global Fair is the first area that you’ll see when you enter Everland. There were not many attractions here except for performances and shows.

Parade

At 8 PM, there will be a parade of lights. We positioned ourselves near the merry-go-round in the European Adventure. It ran for 30 minutes.

SO, IS ONE DAY ENOUGH?

No, one day is not enough to see all and experience all attractions in Everland. We went on a Tuesday (weekend is hell) and started early in hopes of maximizing our day, but we still missed many rides. The two-day pass is recommended if you have time and money for it. But if you don’t, set your expectation that you won’t see it all and just try to maximize the day. Planned the rides that you wanted to see beforehand so you can budget your time.

EVERLAND ADVICES FROM ME

1. Ride the T-Express first thing in the morning to avoid the long line that usually build-up during the afternoon.
2. After T-Express, you can now choose either Zootopia or American Adventures before you take your lunch. It depends on what you prefer. If you’re not into thrilling rides and have kids, Zootopia is a great choice.
3. After lunch, most of the queues in all attractions are already more than 60 minutes. The afternoon is the time for shows, performances, mini-attraction, or some photo opportunities in the garden.
4. The ride queues are the shortest 1 hour after the opening and 1 hour before the closing. So better prioritize what you want to experience.
5. And of course, food is pricey inside. We were able to sneak in Mcdo burgers. I think you can try that too.